Volume: Volume 2(1) - 1998

Article type: Refereed article

Author/s: Jarvis, David and Ari Sitas

In this article Jarvis and Sitas provide an overview of the development of theory around the issue of co-determination. Tracing the debates which have been generated in the process, they critically examine the various political schools of thought that have taken shape on the subject.

Centralised economic planning on the erstwhile eastern European model. they argue, has proved to be non-viable as objective or end product of a process of increasing worker control; but neither can a complex modern economy be governed by 'direct democracy" of the producers. Instead they offer a challenging perspective of the organisation of production based on optimal participation and autonomy of the workforce, while recognising "management" as a distinct and necessary function within the overall division of labour.

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